Auctioneer Michael O'Leary, of Sherry Fitzgerald O'Leary, had a guide price of €8,000/ac on the property but, when he put it to auction, it failed to attract an opening bid and was withdrawn.

The holding is situated less than two miles from the village of Oylegate, Co Wexford. Around 30ac of the land is in tillage and the rest is in pasture.

The farm is laid out in one unit with three divisions. While three to four acres are in need of reclamation, Mr O'Leary said the remainder is in good heart and regarded as suitable arable land.

There are a limited range of farm buildings on the property, which include a hayshed and a 80x60ft lean-to.

Mr O'Leary said there has been lively interest since it was withdrawn and he expects to sell it in the next few weeks.

"We had a crowd of about 15 people that included quite a few interested parties, but, I suppose, it was a bad week to try and sell anything, given the harsh weather and the Budget."

Disappointment

Also Read

Despite the disappointment of last week's sale, Mr O'Leary said the past year has been a surprisingly busy one for land sales.

"We've had a good year, we've sold a lot of land both at auction and afterwards. Recently we got one of the best prices for land anywhere in the country this year when a farm near Gorey made more than €20,000/ac," he said.

"We also sold a 30ac farm at Caim, Co Wexford, for a price in excess of €8,000/ac, and we closed a sale for 14ac at Davidstown and made just below the €10,000/ac guide. I'm confident we'll sell this 44ac as well."